THE ADVENTURES OF MAGGIE AND ROWDY – THINGS YOU CAN DO IN A DAY IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWESTWritten by Mike.S on July 22nd, 2017

One of the great things about living in Portland is that you’re always close to the most amazing spots on the planet. There is so much to do and see. Here is a short post on one of those adventures.

These are my dogs Maggie and Rowdy. I’ll begin with an introduction, Maggie first, she’s the oldest. Maggie’s a black lab/Kelpie mix. She is the most beautiful, smart, and confident dog ever, and she absolutely loves to swim. Rowdy’s a black Lab/Cattle dog mix. He is the cutest, funniest, and sweetest dog ever, and when he see’s sand, he goes nuts.

This adventure begins on a Sunday morning. My wife and I packed the car with my fly fishing gear, loaded up the dogs, and headed to the Wilson River. As we drove along Highway 6, all my favorite spots on the Wilson were taken. “Not a problem”, I said. Let’s go to the Oregon Coast instead. The dogs love the beach even more than they love the river. We get to Tillamook and head North on Highway 101. While driving and plotting which beach to hit first I looked up and saw a Tillamook Country Steak sign. My favorite Jerky. We just started selling it at the shop. I never knew where it was made, maybe Tillamook Country should have been a clue, but I always sucked at that game.

Tillamook Country Smoker

Continuing along 101 we drive through Garibaldi. We see these weird rocks out in the bay, so we pulled over for a minute to check it out. These rocks look very much like the famous Haystack Rock, but with trees growing on them, a mini forest. I can’t help but love the fact that nothing on the west side of Oregon can escape the green.

Crab Rocks

Next stop Barview Jetty County Park. As we pulled into the parking lot the dogs could smell the salt in the air, and their excitement begins. We leash them up, walk past all the other people and let them go. Maggie takes off running with Rowdy right behind. Maggie heads straight for the water and dives right in. She does that when I fish, which is why I contend that I don’t catch as much fish as my friends. Rowdy hits the sand and starts to dig. He absolutely loves to dig. We chant, “dig, dig, dig,” which eggs him on even more.

The day is still young so we continue to head North on 101. We drive through Rockaway Beach. We see a giant hot dog on top of Pronto Pup, we wanted to stop but it was closed, bummer. No hot dogs, no Rockaway.

Pronto Pup

Next the city of Brighton. We had no plans to stop here. It’s just another city on the bay and our mission is to see the ocean. As we were driving through, my wife saw this campground and told me to stop. “Lets check it out”. She’s always on the hunt for a good camping spot. As we pulled up, we saw a crowd of people hanging out on this giant dock. It was part of Kelly’s Marina. It’s a happening little spot, tucked away, invisible from the road. We walked around and admired the weird decorations while enjoying the view. There were fresh live oysters, clams, and crabs for sale. We bought a dozen oysters and went on our way. Time to head home. Dinner Time.

Kelly’s Marina

Cruising North on Highway 6, listening to “Killing Moon, by Echo and the Bunnymen”, great song, you should check it out. By the way how cool is the name “Echo and the Bunnymen”. Thoughts of oysters for dinner, and I can’t help think what a great place to live – Oregon baby.